DAY OF THE BORDER GUARDS

Abstract

This collection of poems examines themes of love, disillusionment, betrayal, and personal redemption. Set in locations ranging from Tomsk, Siberia, to a baseball stadium in Washington, D.C., these poems employ both traditional poetic form and free verse to explore the promise and peril of human connections across eras, borders, and cultures. The poems draw on the author's many years of living, working, and studying poetry in Russia and the former Soviet Union: in content and style, they are indebted to the traditions of Russian as well as English poetry. The thesis also includes six translations of poems from the Russian-language originals by award-winning poet Inna Kabysh, whose work is largely unavailable to English-language readers.